The French parliament has recently passed legislation that prohibits Nigerian students and students from other countries from bringing their families to France. This measure, which received support from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party after a revised version was approved, tightens controls on family reunions, limits migrants’ access to welfare benefits, and forbids the detention of minors in detention centers.
A notable aspect of the law introduces distinctions between citizens and migrants, including those legally residing in France, in terms of eligibility for benefits. The amended and more stringent version of the bill garnered support from right-wing parties, marking its recent approval. Marine Le Pen celebrated the altered measure as an “ideological victory” for the far-right, while Eric Ciotti, leader of the right-wing Republican Party, characterized it as “firm and courageous.”
However, critics from the left accused Macron of aligning with the far-right, with Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure warning, “History will remember those who betrayed their convictions.” Additionally, leaders from one-third of France’s regions have expressed their refusal to implement key legislative measures.
The French vote occurred shortly before an EU agreement to reform the asylum system across the bloc’s 27 member states. The new pact, agreed upon by EU governments and European Parliament members, includes the establishment of border detention centers and facilitates the expedited deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Parliament President Roberta Metsola hailed the new system as a landmark agreement, enabling the relocation of asylum seekers from southern member states with higher arrival numbers to other countries.
